


Ash

by afluffykiwi, lililtoast



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Companion Inquisitor, F/F, Gen, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-11-07 13:51:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11060337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afluffykiwi/pseuds/afluffykiwi, https://archiveofourown.org/users/lililtoast/pseuds/lililtoast
Summary: “Are you… the Inquisitor?” She asked. Truth be told, she wasn’t sure if that was the right title.“Unfortunately, yes. That would be me.”





	1. Trouble with Templars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lililtoast](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lililtoast/gifts).



             Keep low to the ground. Shallow breaths. Creep closer, closer, closer-

Herah’s hands burst through the bush concealing her from the road, arms quickly wrapping around the patrolling templar to yank them back with her. A burst of lighting and they were done, and she let them slump to the ground with a heavy breath.

Picking the rogue templars off was slow work, felt like futile work, considering how many there were and how much damage they were dealing. Still, Ferelden was (as she so recently discovered) a kind of hellish place and she had the power to make it slightly less hellish. Not to sound conceited, but she was an experienced fighter.

She gave a superficial search of the dead templar, slipping the few gold they had into her coin purse and snagging their sword. She looped the scabbard into her belt, resolving herself to using it _later_. She didn’t want to risk any clanging, so she didn’t look any further before crawling through the bushes some more. She listened for the metallic clanging their armor made, and started moving faster when she picked up on it. It sounded like one person, another easy takedown. She got close enough and repeated her earlier action, grabbing the templar and yanking them through the brush.

They made it through when another set of hands latched onto her forearms, yanking at her. She yelped, letting go of the first templar as she tried to move back. The hands on her tightened their grip, and so she charged forward, hoping to catch them both off guard so they didn’t stab her.

Out in the open, she found herself surrounded by a whole squad, five whole templars with weapons drawn. Shit. Shit!

They seemed to reel back when they took in all seven feet and two inches of her, but they recovered quickly. She cast a shaky mind blast, jarring the templar holding her long enough to yank free. She backed up, reaching behind her to break off a branch. The living energy inside connected easily with her magic, amplifying it. She swept her arm out, lightning crashing into the nearest templar and arcing into the next two near them.

Herah grinned in spite of the terrible odds, gearing up to cast another chain of lightning when a force crashed into her chest. She stumbled away, closer to the road before dropping. She reached for her magic, for any sort of revitalizing spell, and found nothing. That was a smite, she just got smited. Smote?

She turned to look at the approaching templars, then at the rest of the valley. She didn’t know what she was looking for, a distraction or help, maybe Andraste reaching down to deliver her from this stupid world. She didn’t see Andraste, but she did see a group of people moving towards her general vicinity.

“Hello! Please help me!” She called out, reaching down to unsheathe the sword.

She couldn’t look to see if they were coming to her rescue, as a templar lunged at her the moment they saw she was armed again. She yelped, swatting their swing to the side with the blade and scurried backwards. She hadn’t fought with a sword in years, and even then, they were wooden and used for play fights. Still, it had to be enough.

She switched up her stance, strategy flipping to avoid the hell out of their attacks until she could make a break for it or her magic came back. For a Qunari, she was quite light on her feet and dancing around their blades wasn’t spectacularly difficult.

Her optimism surrounding getting out of this alive was snuffed out when a blade grazed her side, cutting through the leather band around her waist and all the clothing underneath, and still broke the skin on her waist. She sucked in a sharp breath, biting back a yelp of pain. She took a second to see if the people really had abandoned her, when a hulking figure crashed into two of the templars and sent them flying. She stumbled back, landed on her ass, and gaped at the sight.

The other members of their party arrived soon after, one staying back to unleash an obscene amount of fire on the templars, whilst another dove into the fray. She saw the glint of his sword as it locked with a templars’, and then his staff came blade first to slip between the armor plates. Well. That wasn’t something she saw every day.

A grunt and gasp from her right startled her, and she saw another templar fall dead. A pale figure dropped its arms, daggers still held tightly, before flickering out of sight.

Herah got to her feet, scooped up her sword, and charged in to help finish off the last three templars. And she helped a little, but in reality, she only stunned one a little before it was finished off. She needn’t have bothered, or gotten in the way. Still, she couldn’t sit idly by, that would be rude.

It took her three times to sheath the sword, her hands were shaking so bad. Once it became apparent they weren’t going to kill her as well, she’d lowered her guard in hopes they’d lower theirs. Of course the moment she wasn’t on edge for a fight her fear and nerves swallowed her up. Still, she managed to do it and look up to speak with them.

Them being an elf, a qunari, and two humans. Well, a human and something shaped like a human, but the way the pale rogue was looking at her gave her a distinctly inhuman feeling. She looked them over, looking for their leader, and caught sight of bright green. Oh. Well.

“Are you… the Inquisitor?” She asked. Truth be told, she wasn’t sure if that was the right title.

Herah was strictly a Marcher wanderer. She’d left the city states only once, and that had been enough for her. Even after leaving the band of mercenaries she’d been with her whole life, she hadn’t left the region. Then the sky broke and things like comfort kind of went out the region as her urge to help kicked in. So, she went south. She’d followed rumors all the way to Redcliffe, heard about the Breach, heard about the Inquisitor. But the thing about rumors was that they could be untrue. This was one hell of a way to fact check.

The assumed Herald’s expression tightened with distaste as he looked down at his hand. The green glow became more apparent when he unclenched his fist, and she sucked in a breath.

“Unfortunately, yes. That would be me.”

“Oh. Wow.” She let out a strained laugh. “I’ve heard about the stuff you’ve done. It’s good that someone’s doing something. I’ve been trying and… well, you see how that has turned out.”

She glanced around at the dead templars before gasping in realization. She dropped down to the nearest one, searching them. She came across a scrap of paper and made a sound of triumph, before rising.

“Now that you’re here, maybe you could help me again—and thank you, for saving my life. Sorry for the delay, I’m a bit frazzled.”

“More than a bit, it would seem.” The mage so enamored with fire drawled.

“So it would seem,” She nodded. “I’ve been picking these guys off, but it hasn’t done much. I found clues, though, about their camp. I think I know where it is.”

“Yeah, that’s where we were headed before we saved you.” The Inquisitor pulled out a full sheet of paper with a shrug.

“Oh! Excellent, I could come with you. Help clear them out.” She grinned.

There was a pause from the party in which they glanced at each other. The Inquisitor looked at the other qunari the longest, brows raising. The qunari then looked her over, tilting his head to the side.

“She seems earnest, boss. A crap fighter though.”

“I don’t use swords. This wasn’t mine an hour ago.” She explained, heat rising to her cheeks.

“Then why are you— “

“It hit like a punch. So swiftly it was gone. Hollow. Empty. Cold-“

“Excuse me?” She looked at the not-quite human with alarm, pulling back. That feeling was fading, but to hear it… it unsettled her.

“Don’t mind him.” The fire-mage spoke up quickly, gesturing to the templars. “She must be a mage and they must’ve smote her. Your templars can do that, correct? Snuff out a person’s magic?”

The Inquisitor got a peculiar look on his face, one that frightened her a little. She didn’t think she was the target of whatever emotion he was feeling, but still. She wanted to avoid whatever action it prompted. His grip tightened on the hilt of his sword, and the way he was eyeing the dead templars said he might want to hack them up a bit. But the other qunari touched his shoulder lightly and he snapped out of it.

“I- yeah. They can. They did.” She responded after a moment. “It’s wearing off, though. So I can help. I promise that I can.”

“She wants to help. Let her help.” The not-quite human spoke again.

“Fine. But you stay in front of us. No sudden moves, or we will kill you.”

She nodded, turning on her heel and starting off in the direction of the Templar Encampment. Once her back was turned she let her expression drop, revealing the terror still dragging through her veins. She walked quickly and didn’t look back. She could hear them following and talking amongst themselves, so she didn’t feel like she had to. Besides, she needed to show she trusted them.

She walked in silence until they drew close to a pinch in the road. Mountains rose up on either side of the pass, bottlenecking it. She’d spotted another group of templars on the other side right before she’d ducked out of sight.

She looked back towards the Inquisitor’s party. “There’s more templars up ahead.”

The Inquisitor rolled his eyes, moving past her as he brought out his weapons. The others followed suit, and she took a hint and picked up another branch. As she stepped out of hiding she heard the distinct crackle-snap of ice being summoned, and launched lightning in the direction it came from. It arched past her allies, hitting the frozen templar and shattering him.

With such a promising start, the fight should have been easy. It would have been, had there not been a heavily armored one. They swung their maul with reckless abandon, and so the Inquisitor, his party, and herself were all on defense. Unfortunately, none of them had armor sturdy enough to chance a hit.

They’d taken down all the other templars, but still this one persisted. The other qunari had gotten quite a few hits in, and many spells had landed, but still the end of the fight was not any closer. Herah, an unfortunately impatient person, had had enough. She crouched low and cast a quickening spell on her feet. Then she darted forward, sliding under the swing of the maul before she popped up and punched lightning into a weak spot in their armor. The templar bellowed and swung around, the long handle of the maul hit her side and sent her flying.

She smacked into a rock and fell to the ground, pain flaring in her arm and back. She squeezed her eyes shut, though she could hear the sounds of more hits landing, though she didn’t know on who. But the moment the pain began to subside, she opened her eyes and started getting to her feet. At that point, however, the fight was over.

She rolled out her shoulder as she walked back over, feeling sheepish for getting knocked to the side like that. She cast a quick look at the Inquisitor, just long enough to not see a look of annoyance. Well, not pure annoyance. Good enough.

“Should we continue?” She asked.

“I don’t know, should we? You’re the injured one.” The other qunari responded from where he was crouched, picking the downed templar’s pockets.

“I’m fine. I think we should. But I’m not the Inquisitor.”

The Inquisitor wrinkled his nose. “Then we’ll continue.”

And so they did. The next fights were easy as the traveled down the road and then up the path to the camp. The must’ve meant the majority of the fighting would be inside the camp. Where there wasn’t much room to maneuver. Wonderful.

The Inquisitor had them all stop before heading inside, beckoning for everyone to bunch up.

“Cole can sneak in, observe the layout and numbers, and report back. Then we can fuck their shit up.”

The not-quite human (Cole, his name is Cole) vanished. It was a little unsettling, how thorough his stealth was. A lot about him was unsettling, actually. She shouldn’t pay it much mind, there were bigger things to worry about, now that there was a second to think.

The templars were about to be taken care of. Her goal was about to be complete. Still, she’d wanted to find a way to help with whatever had happened involving the Breach, and she’d found the leader of the organization in charge of dealing with it. She needed to join up. Preferably in the capacity the qunari, the fire-mage, and Cole had.

She needed to really prove herself.

With that decided, she hunkered down to try and build up her mana. Strengthen her resolve and her nerves. When Cole reappeared, she didn’t flinch and listened as he reported back. It was hard to follow, he spoke in such a strange way sometimes, but she did her best. The Inquisitor seemed to understand it.

It either didn’t matter what Cole said or the internal layout was just open space because the Inquisitor proceeded to charge inside with a fierce yell. The other qunari followed, and she let out her own yell as she followed. She startled when a templar appeared right next to her, but she encased her fist in lightning and punched him square in the face.

Giddiness filled her at that, and the fight became a blur. The air smelled sharp with how much lightning she cast—and the Inquisitor had cast some of his own too. Sweat streamed down her face, stinging in her eyes. At some point, she’d drawn the sword again, channeling her magic through it instead. Then she resorted to hacking and stabbing, letting the electricity running through the blade damage them further.

Then it was over.

The base was cleared out and they were the ones left standing, sweating and bleeding (damn, that’s why she didn’t fight close quarters) as they began searching for valuables. She took the time to calm down, gather her wits, and by the time they’d regrouped by the entrance, she had her pitch all plan out.

“I want to join you. With the Inquisition.” She blurted out, her plan gone from her mind.

The Inquisitor looked stunned, and once again he looked to the other qunari with raised brows. This time the qunari simply shrugged. She didn’t know what that meant, and so she hurried to justify herself.

“You’re helping people! I want to help people, help you! You saved my life, therefore I should devote mine to your cause,” She bowed her head. “I swear that I will strive to help you achieve your goals and keep you safe, and I-“

“Okay, uh. Enough of that.” The Inquisitor cut her off, and she looked up. “Find your own way to Skyhold. We’ll test you there. Pass, and you can join.”

She hesitated as she processed his words, and then a bright smile broke out across her face. “Okay. Okay! Yes, I will… I’ll do that. Go there. See you soon.”

With that, they left. If she was smart, she would have followed them to find the way. However, she had things to collect. She needed to rest. In a few days, she would set out on her journey. Someone in the tavern she’d holed up in would know what Skyhold was and where it could be found.

She was going to join the Inquisition. She had to. 

 


	2. Bar Brawl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The important things are worth fighting for.

          The Inquisitor, as small as he was, was hard to spot. The giant, fucking qunari from earlier was much easier to spot. Two weeks after their first meeting, and Herah was gathering the courage to face him again.

           He stood towards the back of the tavern in Skyhold, leaning his hip against a box that was set next to the chair the qunari sat in. They were talking about something, low enough that she couldn’t make out the words but loud enough to hear their tones. They sounded like they were in a good mood. She shouldn’t put this off.

           With that, she took a deep breath and strode forward. She passed many patrons, including a man who gave her a strange look. As if he could, sitting on it the way he did. No matter, she stopped a few feet from the Inquisitor and cleared her throat.

           He didn’t really jump, just turned with a brow raised.

           “I found my way here, sir Inquisitor. I’m ready for your test.” Her voice had caught on her nerves, and came out squeaky. Embarrassing.

           “I told you she would show up.” The other qunari chuckled.

           The Inquisitor shot him a narrow-eyed look, before turning back to her. He crossed his arms over his chest, cocked a hip, and looked her over.

            “Are you sure about this? Really sure? I don’t need to waste my time if you’re just going to back out.”

            “I spent weeks getting here, trying to find you, trying to get a meeting.” She burst out. “I’m not going to  _ back out. _ Sir.”

            “Stop calling me sir,” He sighed, closing his eyes. “Okay, fine.”

            He stepped closer, head tipping back to meet her gaze squarely. She set her jaw, rolling her shoulders back as she prepared for whatever he was going to put her through.

             “Fight me.”

             Herah pressed her lips into a line whilst the other qunari huffed out a  _ for fuck’s sake. _

             “Excuse me?”

              The Inquisitor reached out, shoving at her arm. “Duel me. Fight me. Whatever you want to call it. Give me one good fight and you’re in.”

              With that, against anyone’s better judgement, her arm was winding back and her fist was launched at the Inquisitor’s face. He ducked away, and she pressed backwards, towards the open area of the tavern. Her focus narrowed in on the Inquisitor, so she didn’t see the patrons that started getting up to take her down, or the way the other qunari stopped them.

              The Inquisitor darted forward, dipped under her next swing, and kicked out at the back of her leg. She hopped forward, twisting to use that leg to kick out at him. Her foot clipped his outer thigh, making him stumble back. She pressed forward, lunging at him. In an attempt to tackle him, or something equally stupid.

              His elbow swung out as he slid past, smacking into her ribs. She yelped, twisting and throwing her hand out in an arc. It smacked solidly into his cheek, sending him reeling with his own yelp. He grabbed her wrist, twisted and twisted until it was behind her back, and he shoved her into the nearest wall. She gasped, wriggling in the hold. She kicked back, landing a few against his shin. When her foot connected with his knee, his grip slipped enough for her to break the hold and shove him back.

              She turned, caught a fist to the collarbone. She grabbed a chair and threw it at him. He threw it right back. The tavern had, at this point, cleared out save for the Inner Circle that resided in it. Not that the brawlers noticed. No, they had wound up in a tussle on the floor.

              At the back of her mind, Herah wondered how a man who barely reached her shoulder managed to pin her with such ease. Later on, she would find that admirable, presently she was thoroughly annoyed. He didn’t have such a solid hold on her, since she shoved him off and rolled away. He was already coming at her once more when she threw out her fist and –

              His head snapped to the side, and he crumpled.

              For a moment, it felt like the world went still. The irritation flooding her body drained out to make way for frigid regret. Herah kneeled next to the Inquisitor, frozen with shock. Did she knock him out, or was he dead?

              That though spurred her into movement, and she crawled over to him, rolled him onto his back. She held her hand over his mouth and let out a sigh of relief when his breath puffed out against it. He was just unconscious. Which could still be an awful thing, especially if the other patrons got angry.

              Herah looked around and was startled to see the room practically empty. The only people she could see with a quick scan of the room was the dwarf behind the bar, the man on the chair, an elf on the stairs, and the other qunari walking… towards her. She scrambled back.

             “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to do this. In fact, I didn’t even think I could, I don’t usually-“

          The other qunari knelt down and scooped the Inquisitor into his arms. “Don’t worry about it, kid. Knowing him, I’d say you’re in.”

          “I- okay.”

He started heading for the exit. She continued to sit, trying to process all that had happened, and was pulled by her thoughts when he cleared his throat.

“Since you’ll be staying, I’m The Iron Bull. The boss prefers to be called Caelum.”

Herah nodded a little. “Alright, the Iron Bull. I’m called… Ash.”

He fixed her with a look and she had the feeling he knew that wasn’t what she was called. However, he just shrugged and started for the door again.

Peals of laughter ripped her attention from the departing duo, and she looked up at the stairs. The blonde elf sat with her legs hanging over the side, arms wrapped around the support beams. She shook her head as Herah met her eyes.

“Well, that’s an introduction if I ever saw one. I thought mine was somethin’ else. First day on the job, and you knock him out?” She erupted into giggles again.

“Well, I uh. I like making an impression, I guess.”

She hummed, swinging her legs. “Made an impression, alright.”

“And impression is usually followed with an introduction, right? I’m-“

“Ash, I heard.” The elf stood. “The name’s Sera. I’ll be seein’ ya.”

“I guess you will.” Herah nodded, getting to her feet.

She gave a little wave before turning and dashing out of the building. She was sure to be spending more time in there, that was a given. Just not now, now she needed… to find a place to sleep. She was sure she’d be regretting all of this in the morning. Then she’d be excited. 

**Author's Note:**

> yooooo companion au's are my shit!!!  
> my adaar and my bestie, lililtoast's lavellan (who is the inquisitor).  
> thanks for answering my questions and editing.


End file.
